Independence Day
 RRP £7.99 Lowest New Price £0.01 
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Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Number of pages: 464 Language: English (Original Language) Language: English (Unknown) |
RRP: £7.99
You feel for the guy, but don't understand him
Review date: 2005-08-22 Rating: 6 out of 10
I read the Sportswriter, and thought it was a 4-star book. The sequel tells about the Independence Day weekend a few years later, when Frank Bascombe has settled more into his divorced life and has become a real estate agent. He is taking his son, who has been showing some troubling behavior, out for the weekend. But first you have to read a large bit where he tries to sell a house to an unhappy couple. Then about his relationship which he hasn't made up his mind up about. When the weekend with his son gets underway, Frank tries to get through to his son, but does not seem too bothered when things don't go smoothly. Although his thoughts are not, his actions are quite unlogical.
I have had trouble with some other American writers more often, and maybe this is because they do not write in a captivating way (for me).
Reviews
Ford's lyrical sequel to 'The Sportswriter'
Review date: 2004-09-10 Rating: 8 out of 10
Check your pulse if you fail to surrender to the evocative opening to this novel. Frank Bascombe, ex-"Sportswriter", now a middling success at real estate agency in New Jersey, attempts to connect with his anomic son from a failed marriage. Undertaking to improve his 'connection' via a misguided jock's trip though various sporting museums, the truthfulness of this relationship is counterpointed by some less convincing portraits of the new women in Bascombe's life. Mere details - the novel has a wonderful, down-home American drawl and rhythm that defies criticism. Unhestitatingly recommended.
I must be in a minority here...
Review date: 2003-02-27 Rating: 2 out of 10
Reading all these glowing reviews made me wonder whether I'd read the same book. I bought this on the strength of a few reviews, and good things that I'd heard about The Sportswriter. Never has my opinion of a book been so at odds with the reviews - I thought the book was awful. The narrator was so insufferably smug that I actually panicked halfway through the book. Maybe it wasn't the book - maybe it was me? Maybe I'd missed that it was actually meant to be a slyly satirical novel, and that I'd totally missed the point. Was it actually a comedy in the same vein as The Office, on the surface a documentary but actually an attack on a pompous, smug central character?
I went back and checked. No, it wasn't. It really was that smug and self-satisfied - not just the narrator, but the entire book. I read a lot, and this book still rates in my top five of my most ill-advised purchases ever. Not one that I'll be reading again...
An extraordinary novel about living in the world
Review date: 2002-01-21 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is an extraordinary book, about what it is to be alive. Ford's sheer level of skill in using the language is a delight; reading "Independence Day" will make you love words for themselves and where they can take you. The action occupies little more than a weekend, but encompasses an epic spiritual journey, told with pace, humour, and the razor-sharp observations of people, places and emotions. Everything about the narrator, Frank, his interior life and his external world, is touchably, touchingly real, and draws you inexorably into the novel from the very first page. The suburban setting and the ordinariness of [most of] the events makes Ford's handling of abstract ideas and huge issues of life, love and belief, utterly compelling and deeply moving.
Ford's most striking - and unusual - achievement in "Independence Day" is the astonishing compassion with which he treats characters, story and theme. There are no grotesques, no stereotypes, no over-simplifications; the author takes no intellectual, emotional or linguistic shortcuts. This is a rich book, honest, entertaining, satisfying, and ultimately profoundly optimistic. Don't be put off by the length!
Luminous
Review date: 2001-01-28 Rating: 10 out of 10
The sequel to The Sportwriter, Indepenence Day is better still and a worthy Pulitzer Prize winner. Frank Bascombe's story continues with his teenage son experiencing some psychological problems due probably to the trauma of his brother's death and his parent's marriage breakup. This however is not a downtrodden situation, but one luminous with hope and tenderness. Frank shows that you don't have to be a winner to contribute to humanity and that some failure may be valuable in trying to achieve a state of grace. This book will become a classic.
Product Details/Specifications
Authors:
Richard Ford
Recording label: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
EAN: 9780747585244
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 0747585245
Number of pages: 464
Publication date: 2006-08-07
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Unknown)
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